


Acts Of Defiance

by notyourleo



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universes, Amnesia, Dimension Travel, F/M, No Sex, Post-Series, Queerplatonic Relationships, Time Travel, Warning: Confusing, probably the most terrible fic i've written so far
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 07:55:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3167291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notyourleo/pseuds/notyourleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>The end of the world is coming, and it's all their fault (allegedly).</b> While trying to find Jason, Leo and Piper are killed in the middle of the battlefield. But they are resurrected imperfectly in order to do one quest: save the world from merging together with an apocalyptic alternate universe. They must perform a series of tasks to bring Jason back before time runs out, a feat better said than done as they realize quickly they lose more than they gain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In A Quiet Lucid Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 6/6/15: revised a passage due to factual inconsistencies.

" _Fly on, fly on to the hest when the Bold's navy is hot for you, fly on, and you'll reach the edge of the world. And what's there, you'll find, when your hold is dry, and your beams are shrinking, and your teeth are loosening, is a new world, a miraculous land where you can hide, that will save you from the navy, but kill you, kill you in its own way."—Usrigoth, New World by Steven W. White._

* * *

**ACTS OF DEFIANCE**

* * *

**I. IN A QUIET LUCID DREAM**

Ashes fell like snow on Leo's eyelashes. Consciousness slowly took over his body like lapping waves, and he exhaled, opening his eyes and breathing out the pressure building in his chest. The world was a blurred view of a first-person shooter video game. He made out flashes of red, yellow, and white. Fire didn't faze him, but he still felt the unbearable heat. His body was numb and he couldn't turn his head. His ears rang, and his mouth tasted blood.

Leo kept blinking. He regained his senses slowly even if he couldn't move. The ringing was gone, and it was replaced by the sounds of swords clashing and fires roaring all around him. His eyes sharpened enough to see familiar battle disasters—buildings and vehicles on fire, puddles of blood and flesh inches away from his head—but he wasn't ready for what he saw next.

Piper lay besides him, her eyes glassy and unmoving, an arrow deep in her neck, jutting out in the air. The ashes stuck floated down to her hair. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't breathing. _She wasn't breathing._

He croaked but couldn't say a word. _No._ He clawed his way to her side, his fingers scratching the ground. His chest hurt, and his legs wouldn't act. His ears rang with silence, muting the screams and battle cries. _No, this can't be happening._

He reached out for her hand, her fingers still gripping her dagger. Leo saw his reflection in her kaleidoscope eyes, the colors now dimmed and gray. "P-Piper," he strained, clenching the wound in his stomach when he spoke. Pain hit him like a javelin freshly ripping through his body, and the feeling wasn't pleasant.

A figure flew above their heads and landed near the fire. A man with long, dark hair and pearly white wings approached them slowly, putting his bow behind his back and drawing his sword from his scabbard. Leo recognized the winged man's facial features as he moved closer; tall, beautiful, with glowing red eyes, and it ignited Leo's natural instinct to run away.

He struggled to open Piper's fingers, taking her dagger. But before he could, the man kicked the weapon away and stepped on his hand. Leo groaned in agony as the angel grind his shoes against the palm and the rough gravel of the floor. His knuckles cracked under the pressure.

The man raised his sword above Leo's head. Leo turned to face the sword, the tip of the blade pointed between his eyes, his breath slowing. His body didn't comply with his will. He lay there helplessly staring at the man, eyes half-open, half-closed. _That's it? The end?_

The man must have read his thoughts. He whispered, "No," before bringing the blade down.

* * *

Leo was embraced by Death once. Experiencing it again, it was familiar territory. The falling sensation, his body hitting water in the dark, all of it he had gone through before. When he floated there facing the ceiling-if there was a ceiling at all, he wondered if he could find Piper here. Nobody was falling from the sky, and this seemed to be his personal afterlife before going to the Underworld. Maybe it was a pit stop, somewhere to reflect on what he did, before he was judged by the three kings.

Leo thought that if Piper was here, they would probably be wondering what the fuck happened in the last few minutes up on the surface, rather than reflecting on their merits. But as he took in the situation more, his heart sank like a stone going down to the bottom of the river. He was _dead,_ and there was no clever plan to escape. This time he couldn't come back to life.

Not long after the fall, light shined down on him. He rose from the water and floated up. The world turned slowly, then quickly, like spinning a basketball on the tip of his forefinger. Leo's brain rattled in his head, his stomach gurgled violently. That was strange. When people were dead, they couldn't feel anymore. But he had the urge to turn into a garden sprinkler, spraying whatever he ate last.

The spinning finally stopped. All around him was nothing but a dark void. Air blew in every direction. When he felt goosebumps rising, he looked down and found that he was naked. It was nothing to worry or be self-conscious about. He was dead, of course, so it wasn't like he would bring his clothes with him in the afterlife. Until he heard a woman's voice behind him. "You're not dead, child."

Leo jumped and faced the direction of the voice. A woman in a simple shirt and jeans stood with her arms crossed, her expression grim. Her face...staring at her face was making him dizzy. Her features, her hair, they changed. She transformed in front of his eyes, taking on the faces of the women Leo met in his life. First, he thought she was the snow goddess Khione, then she turned into Calypso and she stayed that way for a long while before changing into the women Leo was temporarily infatuated with in the past.

What really stood out, despite all the familiar faces, were the eyes. Warm and cool colors swirled around her pupils. Kaleidoscope eyes.

Of course. "Aphrodite," Leo said quietly.

A small amount of mist clouded her head like powder, and the face of Piper McLean stayed. But she was older, more confident, and full of authority, not like the Piper he knew. But no joy hinted in her expression, and she reminded him of Hera, the queen of the gods. Her features morphed slightly, but his friend's face maintained itself much to his comfort.

"What do you mean I'm not dead?" Leo pressed. "What...what happened?"

She walked forward with her arm outstretched, two fingers pointing at him. Leo backed away, but the tips of her nails touched his forehead, and he and the world flushed down like water to the drain hole.

* * *

When his senses came back, he was screaming. Electricity shot through his veins, numbing every part of his body. Leo stumbled out of the bed and sprawled on his stomach on the carpet. He saw his hands in front of him, all bandaged like a mummy. The electric shocks didn't stop when he crawled; pain shooting up and down and every time he moved, it intensified.

Someone yelled over his voice. "Frank! Frank! He's awake!"

Two hands touched his back and it just made his agony worse. He swatted those hands away violently and wobbled to stand up. His vision dimmed and then sharpened, making out images in adistance. He was in a small red room, and a black woman with long curly brown hair stood near him, her arms up defensively. "Leo, it's alright!"

 _No, it's not alright._ A thousand voices screeched inside Leo's mind, repeating a woman's name over and over again. _Nothing is alright._ He held his head and burst out of the room, running blindly across a wide elegant hall. The sunlight passing through large windows was warm on his skin. But he didn't stop to appreciate that. He had to find this other woman that the voices kept telling him. He wanted to make sense of this.

Ahead were two large oak doors with beautiful carvings. To Leo, the words EXIT flashed across the surface of the wood. He reached out for the knobs, but two large hands grabbed his arms and pulled him away. Leo struggled from their grasp, elbowing his captor to the chest and stomach. "Get off me!"

"Leo, calm down!" The man's voice boomed. He was a huge and tall Chinese man, his body built together with fat and muscles. "It's just us!"

"I SAID GET OFF!" Leo threw a backwards kick to the man's groin. The bulky man let go and dropped on the floor, hands cupping the area between his legs. Leo gave another good kick to the head and watched his prison warden plant his nose on the wooden floor.

Two more figures appeared, running down the grand staircase, yelling his name and telling him to stop. Leo backed himself to the doors, hands searching for the doorknobs, when someone stabbed him behind the neck.

A syringe stayed deep under his skin before the black woman took it away, her eyes apologetic and afraid. "I'm sorry, Leo."

He stared at her wide eyed and stumbled sideways, a hand on the back of his neck. One leg caught the other and he fell down without any form of grace. Leo tried to blink the sleep away, but the last thing he saw was the woman kneeling besides the Chinese man, waking him up.

* * *

Leo remembered nothing except for two things; his own name, and another woman's name. He was better when he woke up again, and the man and the woman from his previous escapade were watching over him, tending to his wounds. They gave him some food. He made no attempt to run away this time. The voices were gone, and he wasn't being electrocuted by an invisible force. He didn't speak; his tongue was sore. He cooled it off with the delicious meal they gave him and a fruit drink, but they said that it was ambrosia.

Another hour's nap, and he was ready to talk.

"You really don't remember anything? Not even us?" the woman said. "Not even our names? Any name at all?"

One name, but he wasn't ready to reveal that. Leo shook his head, sitting up on his bed. "I'm sorry."

The Chinese man kept rubbing his face, which was purple and bulging from Leo's kick. "It's no use, Hazel, we won't get anything from him. It's Percy and Jason all over again."

 _Jason..._ Now that was another name Leo was familiar with, and it was just coming to him. "I...I think I know a Jason."

They turned to him expectantly. The Chinese man said, "Really?"

Leo strained to dig anything in his mind. Anything that triggered him to think that he knew a Jason. There was a trace, but it was gone now. "Not...not really."

Their shoulders slacked in disappointment. Leo gave them grief even after the lengths they took to care for him. He felt guilty for kicking the chubby man's face. He wanted so much to remember. From the way they acted around him, all three of them were clearly great friends. The woman put on a smile. "I'm Hazel Levesque. This is my boyfriend." Hazel held the Chinese's arm. "Frank Zhang."

"Hi," Frank said. Leo waved his hand in greeting. "I'm really not used to you being so quiet," he added sheepishly.

Hazel sat down on Leo's bed. Only now did he noticed a striking attribute to the woman's beauty; her golden eyes. "What about Piper? Do you remember Piper McLean?"

Piper McLean. That was the other woman's name. So they knew her. "Yes!" He said loudly. Both Hazel and Frank jumped. "I mean yes, I do, that's the only thing I remember. Who is she? Where is she? Why do I remember her?"

Hope and pain shone in Hazel's eyes. "She's your friend. Our friend. We found you two together in the middle of a battlefield." There seemed to be a follow-up, but she wasn't saying it.

Frank picked up from where she left. "Leo, you... You and Piper were _dead_. Christ, a sword had gone clean through your brain, Leo. You're supposed to be dead, but when we collected you, Hazel had a vision. Someone said you're _not_ dead, and that you'll wake up soon. We don't know who was that. So we just...patched you up and waited."

"We cleaned your wounds with nectar." Hazel found her voice again. "And when you started breathing, you were healing by yourself with the help of some ambrosia we gave you through injection, because you weren't really willing to swallow anything, through the mouth or nose when you were sleeping."

Leo snorted, leaning back to his bed frame. He didn't understand half of what they said. Visions? Ambrosia? He stared down at his legs. He set those thoughts aside, focusing on one thing. "So...that wasn't a dream then. I can remember how I was killed, it's crystal clear to me, and..." He touched his temples. "And, that's it."

Hazel and Frank looked like they had more to say, more to ask, but they were holding back. Maybe they were trying to make it slow and easy for him due to his amnesia. Leo was thankful for that. He was afraid of what else they might say.

He moved his fingers from his temples to his forehead. His whole head was covered with bandages, hiding his hair under it. "Piper... Is she okay?"

Hazel nodded. "Yeah, she's safe. She hasn't woken up yet, but she's breathing. Percy and Annabeth are looking out for her. She's upstairs."

On the bedside table was a tray, bottles of medicine, bandages, a bowl of water and towels, and a box of disposable syringes. He didn't exactly forgive Hazel for just stabbing him in the back just like that to stop him in his panicked state, because that was fucking _dangerous_ and he could just die _again_ if she missed the neck and stabbed his eye instead, but he didn't voice it out. "Can I see her?" he asked her.

"Well, sure, but are you okay? There's a doctor coming his way to see you and Piper. He wouldn't recommend you going out yet."

Leo threw the blanket to the side and put his feet on the floor. He was well enough to run and fight Frank off, so he thought he was fair enough to climb up the stairs to see this Piper. But when he stood up, pain jolted from his sides and down his legs. For a moment, he was paralyzed. Leo buckled down to the carpet face first, and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning he was much better than the previous days. Memories came to him slowly and gradually, in the form of dreams, daydreams, and visions. Frank and Hazel were ready to load him with information about demigods and the other magical side of the world that they were currently experiencing, but he stopped and told them that he knew the basics, and about his memories coming back in a slow but steady rate.

Despite the improving mental recovery, his body wasn't catching up. He moved and acted like a zombie. He wasn't healthy enough for the stairs, so there was no seeing Piper McLean that day either. When he got out of his room, he shuffled slowly, guided by a man named Nico di Angelo. Leo didn't remember much of him. That, or they weren't close friends in the first place.

The two-storey mansion he was staying in was deeded to Nico, located on the top of a large hill, overlooking Los Angeles, California, not too far from the actual Hollywood. This was known to be a place dangerous for demigods, but apparently he took this as a challenge. Nico, Hazel, and Frank lived together, wanting to get out of Camp Jupiter to see other sights, but at the same time staying close to it. How a nineteen-year-old was able to afford a luxurious place like this, Leo could never guess.

Percy Jackson was there with them. When he heard that Leo was up and kicking, he came down from Piper's room just to say a couple of words. "You were dead. You literally shitted your pants."

This was one of the first few things Leo heard in the morning, and he didn't like it. Percy acted buddy-buddy with Leo like he didn't know about his memory wipe. It made Leo uncomfortable, but he didn't mind. Leo wanted to find out about himself from other people, depending on the way they acted around him. "Please, whatever details you're armed to tell me, just save it."

Percy laughed and slapped Leo's back. "Don't worry, I'm glad you're back and in case you're wondering, we've already burned them, you and Piper's trousers."

The doctor that Hazel and Frank told him was actually Nico's boyfriend, Will Solace. Seeing a blond haired, blue eyed person reminded Leo of someone else, he couldn't put a finger on it.

After checking up on Piper upstairs, Will performed basic checkup routine on him. "Alright, let's do some mental exercise, since I hear you're getting some memories now." Will cleared his throat and sat down on a couch opposite of Leo. To Leo's left was Nico, and further down were the large windows he saw a few days ago. They touched the ceilings, and beyond those windows was a balcony, separated by glass doors. Bright blue skies stretched out above and pigeons flew freely. "Let's start with pre-school level questions. Tell me your name, your age, your mortal parent, and the year we are in today."

Leo muttered his answers. It was kindergarten all over again. "My name's Leo Valdez, I'm...twenty-one years old. My mortal parent's name is Esperanza Valdez, and the year is 2014."

"Great. Now tell me about these things."

Will asked questions and Leo answered them. A few he got right, many he couldn't answer since his mind was still three-fourths empty. Frank and Percy emerged from the kitchen carrying trays of everyone's breakfast: fried eggs, toasts and bacon. For some reason, Leo's brain nagged about how there was no vegetarian-friendly option in his plate. He didn't know why. But the food was great and he was ravenous; he was torn between eating it slowly to savor the taste, or finishing it all in one gulp. "Who's the chef of this fine cuisine?"

"Me," Frank said. Leo gave him a thumbs-up.

The empty plates were taken away, and it was back to business. Will Solace was quiet for a moment, arranging his tools on the coffee table between them. Everyone else watched. "Let's change your bandages, especially around your head," Will said. "Where you were apparently stabbed by a sword."

Percy, Frank, and Nico helped removed the old bandages and placed them in a container. While Will put ointment and nectar on his healing wounds and unrolled fresh new bandages, Frank gave Leo a mirror. "You should see your face, it's hideous."

Leo half-smiled, half-sneered, and took the mirror from his hands. He wasn't in a hurry to know what he looked like in real life. Far too many things raced in his head to worry about his complexion. But he turned up the mirror and stared at his own reflection; he had nothing to say about himself. Just your average Latino man, not too ugly but not too handsome, with black hair sporting a crew cut and brown eyes. The three day old stubble on his face wouldn't be visible if there was no sunlight. He scowled at the large vertical scar between his eyes, which hasn't healed yet. He just needed a horizontal one across it, and it would be Ash Wednesday forever to Leo.

He saw something else though, other than the small scars around his lips, eyes, and cheeks. On his right temple was a red mark, an "A." He rubbed it a few times to see if it would come off, like a temporary tattoo. "Hey." Leo tapped at the mark with his finger. "What's this?"

Percy was placing the old bandages in a plastic bag when he looked up to Leo. "What's what?"

"This, on my head. What's this?"

"Your...your brain?"

"I'm serious." He rubbed his forehead more. It was itchy. "If this is a permanent tattoo you gave me when I was dead, well, it's not funny."

"It's okay, Leo, slow down." Frank took the mirror from him. "We really don't know what you're talking about. What are you seeing?"

"This...this letter." Leo traced it on the same spot. "There's an A. You really aren't shitting me about this, right?"

Percy and Frank looked at each other confusedly and shook their heads. Will leaned towards Leo and checked his forehead. "Maybe only you can see it, Leo. But we don't like being left out, so we're going to need a special cream, powder, or something to make it visible to us, but I don't know what would work, and if I had any, I didn't bring them."

"You're not being helpful."

Will ignored him, took notes, and sat back down in his seat. "Certain names and words trigger your mind. If we try recalling your last moments before your death and amnesia, we might get all your memories faster. Frank and Hazel told me you reacted when they said Jason's name."

Leo blinked. His brain throbbed and it felt like he was given a hard slap across the face. "Jason...Grace, right?"

"That's right," Nico said besides him. "He's your best friend. You, Piper, and Jason met in Wilderness School, at Arizona, back in 2009."

"We...we did?" He blinked again. "W-we did."

"A week ago, Jason went missing," Percy joined in. "You and Piper are looking for him, but it seemed like he just disappeared from the face of the earth."

The pain was coming back. Dozens of images crossed his mind. _Disappeared from the face of the earth._ He remembered someone else say that. A woman. A goddess.

"W-what happened to him? To Jason?" Leo held his head. "Is it just me and Piper looking for him? What about you guys?"

Frank looked down. Percy placed his hands inside his pockets. "We want to help you," Percy said. "But around the time Jason disappeared...all of sudden there are just spurts of battles everywhere. Demigods against demigods. People we don't know fighting each other. But they are definitely half-bloods, just like us."

"We don't know who they are," Nico continued. "And where they came from, but wherever they go and fight, there's chaos everywhere. Collateral damage. And we want to control it."

"We're trying to put an end to all the fighting," Frank added. "We want to investigate, but we couldn't get close to them. They just wouldn't stop, and when they do, they just disappear with no traces to where they retreat for the day. You and Piper were caught in the crossfire of one battle." His expression grew dark. "But it looked like they were after you."

Out of the depths of his subconscious, an old Leo Valdez started to crawl out from the bottom of his brain, like a worm. A maggot. _It's all our fault,_ it whispered. _We started all of this._

"Leo," Will said, staring at him intently. "What happened? Why did they attack you?"

"I...I don't know." _Yes, you do._ "I don't remember."

"You have to, Leo. You and Piper are the only ones who got close to them. You were right in the middle of the fight. Who attacked you? Do you remember them? Do you see any familiar faces?"

An angel with glowing red eyes entered Leo's mind. And fire and pain and the spinning. The voices were back, whispering to him incoherent things and words. Good and bad memories crashed down to his shoulders and it was nauseating. Bile was rising to his throat. He blocked off his ears and shut his eyes tightly. _Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, MAKE IT STOP._

His friends were shaking Leo. "Hey, dude, stop that. You're _really_ freaking us out," Percy said, looking really worried.

Their touches stung him like bees. He pushed them away. "Don't touch me! Stay away!"

"Whoa, it's okay! We're sorry," Frank said quietly but he couldn't hide the panic in his voice. his hands were up. All the men were standing, moving a good distance away from Leo. "Calm down. It's going to be alright."

 _It's not alright._ Leo shook his head frantically _. Nothing is alright._

Hazel's voice broke out from all the tension that ensued between the men. "Guys! GUYS!"

They stopped talking to each other and turned to her. She stood at the bottom of the staircase. "Piper's awake."

Everyone held their breaths as eyes looked everywhere, and they halted on two girls climbing down slowly on the stairs. A blonde woman, Annabeth, held another woman closely to her, whispering softly.

The men raced up and flocked the women, leaving Leo walking limply to the base, besides Hazel. For the first time ever since he woke up, he had a good look of Piper McLean. There was no need describing her, because Leo remembered her face. It was coming to him now, in a way that wasn't killing him.

She locked eyes with him, sometimes glancing down to watch her step. Percy and Frank asked if she remembered them. Piper wordlessly said no. Will Solace checked for her pulses and breathing patterns while walking backwards. Nico chided him, telling him that he might fall if he kept doing that.

She took one last step and she was standing face to face with Leo. Her hair matted her forehead, but her eyes sparkled. "You're okay," he murmured.

Piper was as pale as Nico di Angelo, but she really was okay. "You're Leo...right?"

"Yeah," Leo said. "And you're Piper."

She smiled in response, and pulled him to an embrace. Everyone backed away politely. This took him by surprise, but he hugged her back. Leo remembered Piper's pale, lifeless body a few nights before. He didn't remember much about her, but his body digressed. From the way his heart ached the moment he saw her, and when he started crying quietly when they were in each other's arms, he knew he didn't want to see her like that again. Not anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is my love letter to you my readers, fellow shippers, and my friends who's still with me for so many years. You know who you guys are. Thank you for being awesome. And I'd like to give my special thanks to my beta-reader Hazelle More. With her amazing proofreading and first-aid knowledge, she made the chapter even better and I'd be lost without her.


	2. Amnesia Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 6/6/15: revised due to factual inconsistencies

**II. AMNESIA LANE  
**

Piper didn't know that she was vegetarian until dinner time. She had an all vegetable meal while everyone else had meat. But her stomach complained and sulked, she didn't want to be a vegetarian just for a while. Just for one day. Just for this meal.

Leo sat beside her, slowly digging through his food. He was quiet, just concentrating on eating. Piper saw something red on the side of Leo's head, a letter _"A"_. She wasn't sure if she could comment on it, and even when she wanted to talk, her voice kept leaving her, only to come back when it wanted to. Maybe the tattoo was just all in her head.

Everyone else in the table talked about camps, weapon choices, and things that made half-sense to Piper. She wanted to call someone's attention and tell them she was hungry for the steak they were enjoying. But she wasn't ready to denounce her vegetarianism. At some point in her life, something must have happened that made her refuse meat. If she ate anything she was willing not to, she might regret it later.

But just this once. _Please_ , just one bite.

Piper caught Leo's eyes, who had noticed how she treated her plate all this time. She couldn't keep her eyes away from his food. The guilt and pain on her face was probably visible because he scanned the table before placing a serviette on his lap. He cut his steak in half and when no one was looking, put the piece on the serviette, wrapped it, and passed it to Piper under the table.

She took the towel, smiling shyly to him. _Thank you_ , she mouthed. He gave her a small smile in response.

"Leo's pretty quiet," Percy said after sipping his drink, his knife and fork arranged to indicate that he was finished with his meal. He wiped his mouth with his own serviette. "Did you lose your memories when you died the first time?"

Leo's eyes boggled. "I died _before_?" He stared at everyone in the table, then looked at Piper questioningly. "Did I die?"

Piper wordlessly shrugged. Leo looked at his plate, his eyes darting for answers in his leftovers. "I don't know. I'll get back to you when I remember everything."

"Fair enough," Percy said, leaning back to his seat.

When the dining table was cleared and the dishes washed, they went to the living room together. Annabeth and Percy laid out weapons and tactical vests of all kinds on the coffee table. Bows, swords, shields, helmets, both ancient and modern.

Piper and Leo sat down on a couch. Annabeth picked up two things from the table. "These are your toys."

Piper was handed a dagger, while Leo got a tool belt. It let out a soft _shing_ as the sides scraped the scabbard when she unsheathed the blade. It was smooth, bronze, and she saw her reflection as clear as a mirror. The longer she held it, the lighter it became. Its power traveled from the handle of her weapon, through her arm, and to her brain, and in a single second she knew how to fight with it. "Katoptris," she muttered. "Helen of Troy's dagger."

Annabeth grinned widely. Leo stared at the weapon marveling, his tool belt forgotten on his hand for a moment. "She has a cool knife while I have...this?"

"It's a magical tool belt, remember?" Annabeth said.

Leo lifted the belt, turning it around. "It...it is?" He stood up and buckled it around his waist. Something about his expression said he was remembering, but he was still confused. He rummaged inside the small pockets and pulled out another dagger, which wasn't as shiny or ornate as Piper's, but a dagger nonetheless. "Sweet."

Piper's face lit. "How did you do that? What did you do?"

He examined the weapon on his hand, smiling to himself. "I...I don't know, I just kept thinking that I want something like your Katop-thing, and I got a poor imitation of it."

They both shared a small laugh. Hazel stepped out of their circle of friends. "Hey, what if I showed you pictures of all of us? Maybe it'll help refresh your memories."

Hazel was about to fetch photo albums for Leo and Piper when a loud explosion boomed in the distance. The lights of the mansion went out and through the large windows the city succumbed to darkness. Sirens blared, and smaller explosions flashed throughout Los Angeles. The emergency lights of the living room turned on, washing the walls with faint orange hue.

They ran to the balcony and stared down at the city. "There they are," Nico whispered. "We got to go."

Percy, Frank, Nico and Will strapped on the tactical vests and put on thick jackets over them, and grabbed their weapons from the table. Frank ran out ahead, while the others inspected each other's equipment.

Piper and Leo followed their friends outside. Frank was nowhere to be seen, but a large red dragon stood in the mansion gardens. A chill ran down through Piper's spine. "Why is there a—"

"It's okay." Hazel took her hand. She was the only who wasn't dressed for battle. "It's just Frank."

Piper's eyes widened. " _Frank?"_ When she looked at the dragon again, it nodded to her.

Percy climbed up to the dragon's back, while Nico took over a motorbike that was parked near them. Will Solace sat behind him, wrapping his arms around Nico's waist. "Are you coming with us, Hazel?" Will called out.

Hazel waved her hand. "Sorry, I've got two people to watch for the night, remember?"

"You sure? I know you hate being left out."

"I'll be fine, but tomorrow it's my turn. Be careful!"

Annabeth was last to come out of the mansion, tying her hair into a high ponytail. When she passed them, Piper grabbed her arm. "Is there any way we can help?" she asked her.

Annabeth looked pained. "I'm sorry, Piper. When both of you are better, okay?" She hugged her tightly. "Rest well for me."

"We got to go, sweetheart!" Percy shouted. Frank stretched his wings, each one twice the length of his body. Nico revved his bike alive and drove out down the hills towards the city, while Annabeth let go of Piper with a smile and ran to the dragon. She was hoisted up by Percy, and together they followed Nico and Will from the air.

* * *

Piper loved the felt of the album's soft leather cover, even though the old Piper in her mind was shaking her head in disappointment. _Go away,_ she thought to her other self. _I don't want to be a vegetarian tonight._ Leo sat beside her left, and they opened the album together. Each photo was a returning memory, and Piper didn't realize how closely they were peering until they knocked their heads together. Leo rubbed the right side of his forehead. "Ow."

They took time absorbing the photos. Hazel was at the balcony, watching over the city. Piper glanced over her once in a while. She wanted to talk to her about their friends. The album helped find the missing pieces of Piper's memories, but they were nothing significant. She knew by now that the memories returned to her gradually, so she wasn't too worried. The pictures reminded of good times she had with the friends, but she wanted to spend more time with their living counterparts.

But Leo looked like he was having trouble recollecting his own memories. He stared at the pages with such anger that Piper worried he was going to rip a page off. She touched his arm and shook him lightly. "Hey, are you okay?"

He snapped from his trance and turned to her wide-eyed. Static electricity traveled from the hairs of his arm to Piper's fingertips, stinging her, and making them both jump away from each other. Something dark dripped from Leo's nostrils.

Hazel came back from the balcony and noticed the same thing about him, too. "Leo, you're bleeding."

Leo looked on confusedly, and touched above his lips. His fingers came back with fresh blood. "I am bleeding," he said calmly.

Hazel rushed to get some tissues for him. "Don't tilt your head up, you're just making it worse. Just wipe it off and let it all flow down."

"Okay." He clogged some of the tissues to his nostrils and continued staring at the photo album with his head down. After a while, he saw Piper's worry brows were still intact. "I'm okay, Piper. This is sort of a side effect from getting a sword through my brain."

"From the sound of it, you're _not_ okay at all."

He grinned shyly, cleared his throat, and turned back to the photos. "Aww, look at me." He pointed at the picture of himself around his late teenage years, sitting down on a chair near a worktable, grinning widely at the camera. "I'm such a cute kid."

"Oh, there's a fun fact behind that," Hazel said, who sat across them. "Piper took that photo."

Piper and Leo looked up to her, not suppressing their smiles. "Really?" Leo said. They beamed at each other for a second before putting their attention back to the photo album. Piper felt a new connection with him, something that wasn't reinforced to them just because they knew each other from the past. A different connection, like meeting someone new. Like building a relationship from the bottom. From scratch. The newness was nice and refreshing, even though it was unnerving to lose her memories from the start.

But Leo wasn't an exception; Piper felt the same with Hazel, Percy, Annabeth, and anyone who interacted with her since she woke up. It was just weirdly comforting how she and Leo could relate with the only thing they had in common at the moment: amnesia, and the fact they died together.

Piper flipped to another page, and her eyes caught the image of Leo and herself with another boy, who was in the middle of the picture. His blue eyes saw through Piper. Her heart thumped fast in her chest. "This...person." She tapped at the blond boy.

"Jason Grace, right?" Leo said. "What about him?"

"He's...my boyfriend." _He is. He was. He is._ Piper didn't know which tense she was supposed to use. Was this person still her boyfriend? Or was she mistaking a faraway memory as a recent one. "Me and him...we...we..."

"Whoa there, sister." Leo puts his hands up. "I know what you're going to say. Keep the naughty details to yourself for the sake of my innocent ears."

Piper punched his shoulder. "That's not what I'm going to say. Now I lost it because of you." She turned away from him. "But...he's missing. And we were looking for him, before we lost our memories. Hazel, when did we last talk to him?"

Hazel thought for a while. "You were the last person to see him, Piper, almost two weeks ago. Here, in the mansion. We've been investigating for his whereabouts for three days before you were attacked. We found you right there." She pointed at the city, the center flashing lights like the biggest rave party was happening down there.

"Wait a minute, you said these people were after us." Leo shifted on his seat and leaned towards Hazel. "So technically, we're supposed to hide so they won't find us, right? So why are we so near them?"

"Good question," Hazel said. "This is one of the reasons why Percy and the others are out there fighting. They haven't appeared in Los Angeles until the night they attacked you, and they haven't moved from that spot ever since. The weird thing is, the city hasn't caught up with the battles that happen every night. The disaster, the causalities, the collateral damage... Either the Mist is working hard to hide everything that's happening, or the people we are against are powerful themselves to manipulate the minds of mortals."

Hazel placed her hands together. "But it won't be long until the mortals notice, though, because every day it turns worse. Our friends are fighting to keep them contained, and divert their attention from you guys, until you're better and can move to a safer place. It's impossible to bring them somewhere else, and I don't know if they're here because you guys are here."

"What does Jason going missing have anything to do with these people?" Piper inquired. "What's the connection?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out soon. Hopefully." Hazel smiled sadly. "When both of you are better, we'll talk about what we're going to do at this point."

Piper and Leo finished the album and placed it on the coffee table. Piper's eyelids drooped. She wanted to sleep than try to watch all her memories like a television at the back of her eyeballs. "When will Annabeth and the others come back?"

"Morning," Hazel said simply. "So let's not wait for them. Let's get you both to bed."

* * *

Memories didn't come to them chronologically. They were like a puzzle game; at the start, you piece together what matched and piece the matched pieces with the other matched pieces until a huge, complete picture formed.

And even the memories were in pieces. Often at the start, it was just Piper and darkness, a black page. Then her weapon would appear on her hand. Next, the sky spilled out above her head like watercolor paint, the moon making a humble entrance, and the ground and the general setting faded in. Now she stood on a warship, bronze and bathing under the moonlight.

Young Hazel Levesque appeared in front of her with a spatha. Piper looked down to see that she was wielding Zethes's sword, something she earned after fighting off Khione and the Boreads. Hazel charged towards her, swinging her sword downwards for the first blow. Piper parried it away, although barely. She staggered a bit before she found her footing again.

Hazel said, "Great, but not fast enough."

At some point, the images were wrapped with her five senses, and they became full-fledged memories. Piper remembered the temperature of the night, how chilly it was when they sailed through the sea. And the sweat trickling down the sides of her forehead. Her lightly parched throat. Hazel was teaching her the basics of sword-fighting, with the tips, tricks and cheats. She was learning from the best, no doubt. She had a purpose, a new found sense of importance that invigorated her with energy every time she made Hazel move for defense. No more standing around, no more feeling useless. She was going to fight alongside Annabeth and Hazel and the guys.

But that wasn't the case in her next memory.

Wind rushed past her ear, and someone's arms were wrapped around her waist. They were falling from the clouds, her lungs sore as she screamed a name. She looked up at the gray sky, and felt her heart filling with molten lead as she watched a fiery explosion spread out, gold erupting all around them with undeniable beauty. Someone was up there, someone she knew and cared and they just _died_ right in front of her. But who? Jason, her boyfriend, was holding tightly. Who was up there? She couldn't hear her piercing cry at all even though her throat burned with acid, heat and pure misery.

The next images were too overwhelming for her. A mixture of pain and the anger overlapping her memories when she learned that she didn't have the physician's cure with her all this time. All these heavy emotions were directed to Hazel and Frank, but most of it—she wouldn't admit—was really towards her dead friend. It didn't matter if _he_ hadplanned it from the start, everyone was supposed to be all in this together. _All_ of them. She felt disconnected with this friend of hers.

She was calmer after that. But as days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, she felt a slow heartbreak that wasn't tied into any romantic relationship. Sometimes she'd think that her friend was there as normal, working on something that would amaze people like he always did, tucked somewhere far because she knew he didn't come out often. But sometimes pain would strike her chest, and the tears would roll down her cheeks when it came to her that he wasn't there with their friends at all. It was a tough period for her, for all of them.

When the last piece of memory fell into place, the identity of their dead friend, she woke up from her dream in tears. Someone was rapping their knuckles at her door. A muffled voice said, "Hey, are you awake?"

She got up from the bed and opened it. Leo appeared behind it, the sides of his face beading with sweat. He was clutching his chest, breathing heavily. "Hi. Sorry, it's just...the goddamn stairs."

"What's wrong?" Piper said, quickly brushing away her tears with her sleeve.

Leo gulped down his saliva. He leaned on the doorway. "Jason." He gasped his words. "We need to talk about Jason."

* * *

It was three in the morning, and Los Angeles was still under attack. Their friends were still fighting, and Piper wondered if they would come home soon. Hazel was asleep on the living room with her sword next to her, waiting for their friends or enemies. Piper and Leo tiptoed past her and sat on the bench at the balcony, watching the battle from afar.

"When I died, I remembered meeting Aphrodite briefly," Leo started. He brought his tool belt with him, which hanged on his left shoulder. "She told me I wasn't dead, which is...really confusing and cryptic. But she said more than that. She wanted to tell everything she needed to tell to us. But she had to send Cupid to kill us first."

"I thought you said we didn't die?" Piper pointed out.

Leo growled in frustration. "I don't know, don't ask me, I'm just reporting. She really didn't talk to me in real-time, but she gave me a...memory message? I don't know what to call it." He pressed his lips together, thinking. "Let's call it a pseudo-memory. Things you remember and thought that happened, but in reality it didn't happen."

He placed his hands on his lap. His face fell. "I can't...I can't grasp the scope of what she told me. It's just too huge for my brain and worse with my amnesia." His arms were steady, but his right leg shook restlessly. She knew that he was thinking many things, but he wasn't nervous. It was the need to move all the time, just like Percy and Annabeth, and anyone who had ADHD. But Piper noted that Leo was the most fidgety of them all.

He kept glancing at her, opening his mouth but closing again. "Have you...Have you remembered anything about before? About Jason?"

"No," she whispered. Jason was the reason he woke her up in the first place. "Nothing has come to me yet."

His face only grew dark. He rubbed his mouth, took a deep breath, and sighed. Their eyes met. "Jason's missing. But Aphrodite said he isn't just missing, Piper. He's...gone."

Piper twitched. Something was digging in her mind. "Gone. What do you mean, gone? You mean he's dead?"

"No, not _dead_. Gone as in gone-gone." Leo's voice was pained and frantic. "He just _disappeared_. We can't...we can't find him, Piper."

"That's not true." She stood up from her seat and faced him. "Jason just can't _disappear_. It's not like he went into a different dimension. We can find him. What are you talking about, Leo?"

Leo gritted his teeth and looked away from her. His eyes were watery even in the dark. Whatever he wanted to say, he didn't want to say it.

Two sides were fighting inside her consciousness. She knew and at the same time she didn't know. The old Piper McLean had buried it deeply in her mind. But all it took was for Leo to say the words clearly to bring it out again.

And she didn't want to hear those words. She wasn't ready.

"Piper," Leo said slowly. Each word cracked. "Jason doesn't exist anymore."

The city breathed with sounds of war. The battle was at its climax. Whether or not this would be the last night of fighting or there was tomorrow to continue, it was to be decided tonight.

He was kidding, she thought. He always did that to scare her, and it wasn't always funny. But in a flash, Piper remembered talking to a gruff looking man **,** between her apparent death and resurrection. This man shook his fist, then pointed at her accusingly.

That fragment was a small piece of a large photo. An incomplete pseudo-memory.

Piper covered her mouth and nose with her hands. She walked backwards to the edge of the balcony, her lower back hitting the stone balusters. She tried to quell her tears with deep breaths, but it didn't work much. The earlier memories of loss was refreshed by Leo's confirmation. Everything was a stab to the chest. "Where is Jason? What happened? What do you mean _he doesn't exist anymore?_ _How?_ "

"I don't know," Leo said quietly. And that was his answer in all four questions.

She tried to gather herself together, and sat down besides him sniffing. Leo summoned a handkerchief from his tool belt and handed it to her. He was just as mentally exhausted as she was. She took it from him silently and blew her nose on it. Did their friends know about this? Or was it just her and Leo? If they didn't know, should they tell them? "Hephaestus. He said the same thing to me."

"Hephaestus?" Leo leaned forward, eyes wide. "He...he talked to you?" A two second pause. "So wait, _I_ get your mother, while _you_ get my dad? I don't understand. It makes a bit of sense if we get to talk to our parents about this, but why the other way?"

Piper wiped the dripping snot out of her nose. She was just as clueless as he was. "Maybe we should talk to them..."

"Yeah, let's ask them." Leo looked up to the skies. "Hey Dad! Can you hear me? Oh right, you were chucked out of the sky when you were a baby, my bad."

He didn't have to shout when talking to a god. But Piper left Leo to himself and closed her eyes. She prayed to her mother, Aphrodite, and asked her all the questions that nagged her right now. _Hi, Mom._ _Why did you talk to Leo, not me? Why did you kill us? What is_ this _on me and what does it have to do with me?_

They allowed time for their parents to respond. In the distance, the last shots of the battle down the city were fired quietly. It was over now. Would Percy, Frank, and the rest of them come home soon? Piper and Leo let the silence rift between them for a good twenty minutes. It was comfortable and natural until they realized they weren't speaking a single word. They were deliberately avoiding each other's gazes.

Somehow, it was frustrating talking to Leo. Piper was supposed to know him, and she had a bank of memories she freshly received to support that, but at the same time he was a completely new person to her. There was no problem remembering her other friends. Why was she struggling with him?

Leo glanced her way. "Any luck?"

"Sorry," Piper said.

He pinched the spot between his eyes. _Back to his thoughts again,_ Piper mused to herself. "There's...there's something else. I forgot to tell you," he said.

"What is it?"

Leo placed his tool belt on his lap and squeezed it tightly, twisting it like wet laundry. "She gave me...something. Something to help us through this." He turned his head and Piper saw it clearly. The searing red letter _"A"_ on his right temple that she kept seeing on him. It was like a tattoo buried under a translucent layer of skin. He traced the letter with the tip of his finger. "It's right here, if you can't see it."

Piper scooted closer to him. "I can see it."

Something shined in Leo's eyes. "You do? Really? Please, _please_ tell me you're not kidding."

She reached out to trace it. He leaned his head to her hand. When she touched his skin with her fingers, the mark glowed brightly and dangerously. She quickly pulled her hand away, with Leo moving back to his side of the bench. "What was that?" Piper exhaled.

"I've no fucking clue." Leo rubbed the side of his head hard with his knuckles. "I feel like a machine. She said this is going to protect you."

"And...how is it going to help me when it's on you?"

"Really don't know."

They kept asking each other questions, and they kept getting the same answer. _I don't know._ It was annoying. _A break in the cycle would be great,_ Piper thought. She rubbed the left side of her collar bone. Her more recent memories weren't coming to her yet. She didn't know what she did before all of this. Where did they go when they learned Jason went missing, and what did she do before she was ambushed and getting killed by Cupid?

Her pseudo-memories were still memories. They needed to be triggered by something, like the photo album. And while she was happy she got them again, the memories from the book were not important now. But she wasn't going to wait until she remembered everything.

It sucked. They were in the middle of something big, and they didn't know the most crucial details. "We have to find out everything, Leo. Again, if we knew anything about this before."

Leo snapped his fingers, in an _I-know-what-to-do-sort-of_ way. "We need to talk to Hera."

"Hera, not Aphrodite? Not Hephaestus?"

"She's always the card-carrying jack, she has to know _something_. Especially with something big as Jason gone." Leo stood up and moved to the baluster, looking over the city. "Besides, our parents aren't answering."

He closed his eyes. This time there was no shouting to the heavens. He prayed, with pink lips moving silently. This was the side Leo Valdez didn't show often. He was quiet. Peaceful.

Piper closed her eyes again. She prayed with him, remaining on her seat. _Please hear us out. We lost our memories. We want everything to make sense to us again._

Wind danced around her ankles. She didn't pay much attention at first, but it grew stronger by the moment, almost pulling her legs. Her eyes shot open. Between Piper and Leo was a mini tornado pulling air from every direction. The mist solidified from the bottom to the top, forming feet, then legs, until a woman stood tall. She wore elegant apricot robes adorned with jewels, and held a long staff in her right hand. The head of the staff was a spherical astrolabe the size of a volleyball, with the blades turning slowly.

In front of Piper was the Queen of the Gods, but at the same time she wasn't exactly there. Her form shimmered, making her translucent. Like a hologram or a ghost. "It's about time you summoned me," she said coolly.

Behind the goddess, Leo approached Hera cautiously. He looked like he wanted to try to put his hand through her for a moment, but fought the thought back and trekked around her instead. "Were you waiting for us to _call_ you? Instead of, you know, knock on the front door yourself for us?" He didn't sit down but stood besides Piper. She was surprised that Leo talked that way to the Queen of Olympus. Everyone was afraid of offending gods, even slightly. They knew more than enough mortals who were turned into animals or otherwise punished, and the gods never denied it themselves.

Hera glitched. One second, her eyes were besides her left ear, floating. The next second, they were back in place. She looked like she was fading away. "I'm sorry for not coming sooner. I don't have much power in me now. But there isn't much time, children. I have something I must give you, but you called me for a different reason. I know why you want to talk to me. You have questions, and it is necessary for me to answer them."

Something about her apology of being tardy took Leo back for some reason. Piper picked up on the other things she said. "Yes, we do have questions," she started. And there was so many she didn't know where to start. She didn't know if Hera could answer them all. "But what do you mean you don't have much power? What's going on?"

"I believe that's not the question you should be asking, Piper McLean." Hera sounded tired, her voice wavering for a moment.

Piper thought hard. How was she going to cram a hundred questions in one? She looked at Leo, silently asking him if he had come up with a better question to summarize all the things they wanted to know. Her brain was breaking in half.

She gave up. Piper wanted to think she was smart. And she wanted to sound clever, to Leo and to Hera. But not this time. Not right now. "Where's Jason?" she asked. That was the most sensible question at this moment. All of this started because he went missing.

A deep sigh from Hera. "You are still recovering, I see. I suppose that's to be expected. As for Jason Grace, I'm afraid I have to confirm what you already know." Wrinkles seemed to appear on Hera's beautiful face. "He is lost since September 7, two weeks ago. He is not here on Earth, but he is not dead, since he cannot be found even in the Underworld. Only way that we can explain this without further proof is that he's been wiped out of existence. As if he is not born from the first place. _Plucked_ out. But what I can tell you for sure is that this is just the start of something bigger, children."

 _Something bigger._ The meat Piper ate a few hours ago was climbing up to her throat. How big? As big as Gaea or bigger than that? She dreaded the latter. She was so tired; she wasn't ready to save the world yet. Her collar bone ached, almost as if pulsing, when she thought of this; her tattoo was telling her otherwise. Whether she liked it or not, she was already part of the bigger picture. But was there hope left to find Jason? To bring him back? That was what she wanted to know the most.

"But plucking Jason Grace isn't simple as picking flowers," Hera continued. "And this didn't happen _just because_. He is both a symptom and a start of something else. Another world, another universe is trying to merge with us."

In her mind she saw another world tipping towards them from the sky, like the universe's bowl of cereal, spilling people, animals and buildings down to them – a cargo of errant galaxies ramming to the universe she was in.

"Another...universe?" Leo shut his eyes tightly, confused. "Are you saying there are alternate universes out there? Not just one? Not just this?"

Hera took her time to think and choose the words she was going to say. "The universe is like a tree, Leo Valdez. It has thousands of trunks, branches, and leaves. And the leaves themselves have branched anatomies of their own. When a decision or action is made, a branch sprouts. When another action is done from the results of the previous one, another one grows and secedes from the mother branch's linear path. But there are scenarios where you make a _different_ choice. One way road that splits into dozens, and it continues to split. They are never ending, because we always make decisions in our entire lives."

"Something tells me this isn't about what happens if I pick an orange or an apple," Leo said. "So... you mean everything isn't exactly pre-planned or destined. One way or another, a friend who was _supposed_ to be dead in this universe, _is_ alive in another universe somewhere. Is that what you're telling us?"

Hera cast her eyes down for a second before looking back at him. "Yes."

Leo's tensed shoulders fell. His eyes turned sad. Piper wondered where he retreated in his mind. The endless possibilities that would have happened depending on the decisions they made wrecked her mind, too. But right now, no more inquiries from him.

Piper took the torch from him. "All this time, we thought that everything has been decided by the Fates and the Prophecies. But now we can _deviate_ from them?"

"That is not entirely true. The Prophecies are like guides, Ms. McLean. To keep the world spinning. To keep _you_ alive."

Piper crossed her arms. The last Prophecy she was involved in had double meanings and triple meanings it took the entire time of the quest to understand what it meant. But she wondered what would have happened if everything didn't go the way they did. What if they interpreted a line of a prophecy wrong? Or what if they went into a different direction? Would there be more causalities? Would any more of her friends die? "So what happens when we don't follow the prophecies?"

"The Prophecies fulfill themselves whether or not we 'deviate' from them. They are there to warn and prepare us for anything that will come our way," Hera said. "And it is not always about the prophecies. Alternate dimensions are born based on crucial actions made by billions of people. Not just us. "

"So it seems like the overall universe is one giant mess of cables molded together." Leo had returned to earth, and placed his hands on his hips. "Okay, well, why is it crashing to us? How did that happen?"

A shrill buzzing pierced through the air. Piper covered her ears and Leo scrunched his face in pain. It was coming from Hera, not from her mouth, but from her glitching projection. Despite the noise and commotion, Hazel wasn't waking up behind them.

"I don't have much time," Hera stated. "I cannot answer every question about the universe you give to me right now, you might get your answers in the future. Now, there is something I want both of you to do." She held the staff that she was carrying on both hands, offering it to them. It was the only thing solid about her. "Despite the impossibility, there is a way to bring Jason Grace back."

It was the best news and the worst news that she heard in the night. Piper was happy and afraid at the same time.

"Taking away Grace had cause the flow of time to be severely disrupted. It tipped the balance that made this universe stable. But bringing him back could fix many of our problems." Hera looked at the sky. Behind her was a splash of orange rising from the horizon, and Piper saw white clouds stretching like paintbrush strokes. "Grace is one of the few causalities so far, but everything is just beginning. We don't know who we are up against, but it is best not to wait to know our enemies. If they merged with us completely, _our_ world will cease to exist. Our minds will be wiped blank. Mortals will die with no afterlife waiting for them. _They_ will take over, and we don't know what are the consequences if they do.

"When I learned that my champion was gone, I compiled memories of Jason Grace from all individuals who knew him or at least encountered him, memories even from monsters, mortal strangers, and the titans he fought and defeated. Especially from you two." She looked at the staff. " _This_ is what's left of Grace, and it has everything you need to bring him back. Take it, and perform a ritual in the right place at the right time. But you must commit a universal taboo in order to go where you need to go. I have already asked Hecate for her help, and she sent people to assist you in your incoming quest."

Too many demands. There were too many demands for them to handle. Piper just took in the words without chewing them right away. It was too complicated. She left them on her tongue, and she was scared to bite and take it all in. She must have spaced out because she didn't notice Leo stepping up reaching to take the staff from Hera's hands.

But Hera moved back. "Before I give it to you, there is a price to pay. An exchange."

Leo staggered on his feet. He closed his hands into fists. "What? It's not free?"

The corner of Hera's mouth twitched. "The staff is an extremely powerful _weapon_. It is possibly the only thing that will reverse everything to stability."

"Yeah, I get that. But since the end of the world might happen, and that we're going to do a lot of work to make everything normal, why not just give it to us for free?"

"Economical reasons."

"Of _course,_ " Leo grumbled. "And what about money?"

"Mortal currency doesn't mean anything to me."

"Okay, okay." He looked around him, searching for something to give her. He stared at the magical tool belt hanging on his shoulder. He held it in front of him. "Is this enough?"

Piper blinked. That tool belt was a part of him, a handy friend that saved his life more times than they could count. He was giving away a piece of his identity. But he didn't look like he was hesitating at the fact he was about to let go of it. Maybeshe was just being oversensitive about this.

Hera only looked at the tool belt once and said, "No, that's not enough."

"That's either the most expensive magical item in the world, or you're scamming us."

The goddess sighed deeply. "I can let you pay in installments until the price has been fully paid, although there is a deadline, so come prepared. But I warn you that whatever you pay will never be enough unless..."

He waited in anticipation. "Well?"

Hera pressed her lips into a thin smile. "You will have to find out yourself."

They exchanged the items, Hera taking the tool belt, and Leo the staff. He seemed a bit unnerved at the queen's last words. He weighed it down with his hands, and touched the blades of the astrolabe. "Huh, it's not heavy at all."

The buzzing was back again, louder than before. Hera's form swirled and faded in and out like a dying light. "I must go now children."

"Wait!" Piper stood and ran to Leo's side. "How do we use the staff? What ritual and what taboo are we supposed to do? Why aren't our parents answering us? What about the tattoos they gave us?"

"While your memories may return, you will feel incomplete until your marks are, for want of another word, activated," Hera echoed. She was glowing now. "They are _gifts_ to you, their last resort. They will help you throughout your quest. But there are severe side-effects, since your resurrections are imperfect. Good luck, demigods."

"No, wait!" That wasn't enough. Piper wanted to know more, to know everything they needed. There was more to this quest than Hera let on.

Leo blocked Piper's view, and they looked at each other instead. "Don't look."

Piper shut her eyes tightly and pressed her face on Leo's shoulder. The back of her eyelids turned bright red, and heat and power radiated intensely behind Leo. When it was gone, they broke away and stared at the spot where Hera stood.

The sun was rising. The sounds of traffic and early commuters hummed below them.

Leo held the staff awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say next. Piper took a moment to take in everything that was just discussed. Jason, the staff, their quests, their tattoos, _alternate universes_. It crashed down to her mind like concrete bricks.

She looked at Leo in the eyes one more time before collapsing.

* * *

The first thing she saw when she woke up was a small electric fan on top of the coffee table. It turned and whirled quietly, and the cool air brushed her skin, along with sunlight shining on her face. She lay on a sofa, with a cool wet towel on her forehead. Her throat was horribly dry.

Annabeth came to her view, smiling. Her face and clothes were covered in dried mud. "Hey, good morning," she whispered. Her lips were dry and chipped.

Piper rubbed her eyes. "You're back," she said quietly.

"Yeah. Everyone's here except Percy." Annabeth gestured to the living room. Piper sat up and saw Frank, Nico, and Will snoring soundly on mattresses placed on the ground like an arc, surrounding the sofas. They had their vests discarded in one corner, but hadn't bothered to change their damaged clothes. Leo was on the other couch, with a towel covering his face, one arm under his head, and the other on his chest.

Piper recalled fainting just a few hours ago. He must have carried her here even though he was tired himself. "I'm sorry for inconveniencing you," Piper mumbled. "I promised you I'd rest well."

Annabeth shook her head, still smiling. "It's nothing. It's Leo's fault for waking you up so early."

The silence was so soothing but so fragile. Here was a room of hyperactive demigods sleeping, and Piper didn't want someone to break the peace with a raised tone. Not even herself in an urgent situation.

She wiped her face with the towel. "Where's Percy?"

"Oh, his family is in town. They want to see him, and they're going to stay here overnight. He went ahead to pick them up."

"They're here? But it's not safe here in the city."

"That's why they're staying _here,_ in Nico's place. Just a quick visit."

"And..." Piper gave the hall another one over to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. "What about Hazel?"

"She's at the back, sending messages to the camps. She'll be here any minute." Annabeth sat on the couch, and Piper scooted to give her room to sit. "Leo told us everything," she started, still speaking in a low tone. Her face was serious. Worried. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It must have been overwhelming for both of you."

"It's _ridiculous_." The towel was dry now. Piper dipped it inside the bucket of water. She noticed the astrolabe staff on the table. Talking to Hera felt like a dream, but here was proof it was real. They were really going to do it; go on a quest to find and bring Jason back, along with every other complication they had to jump over. "I'm scared of the universe now."

Annabeth chuckled silently before the sides of her lips turned down again. "I guess there's something worse than Tartarus now." Her eyes were drooping and half-closed. "What are you going to do now?"

Piper searched her mind. The jumble of information Hera gave them was still disorganized in her head, but one thing stood out. She tried to make sense of it. "I don't think we can just go and find him yet. Hera said someone's coming to help us. I don't know who they are though."

"They're coming when? Now?"

"I don't know."

Annabeth frowned and rubbed her neck. "Leave it to the queen to keep all the important details to herself."

Leo stirred and yawned. He sat up slowly and blinked rapidly. The towel fell on the carpet. His eyes were red. He scanned the room before he glanced towards Piper and Annabeth, sniffing. "Hello, ladies."

"Hello, Leo," Annabeth answered. "Nice sleep?"

"I guess so." He picked up the towel from the floor, stood up, and stretched. "Here, Annabeth, take the couch. It's your turn to get some Z's."

She hesitated. She turned to Piper. "Do you mind if I..."

Piper grinned. "Why do you need my permission? Go and rest."

She looked relieved. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you_ for taking care of me."

Annabeth transferred couches. She squeezed Leo's arm and thanked him first before lying down, and in a few seconds, she was already in deep sleep.

Leo slugged around the coffee table. He pushed the bucket away and sat down besides the electric fan, facing Piper. He tied his towel around his arm—maybe out of pure impulse—and placed his elbows on his knees. When he blinked, his eyelids didn't go down together at the same time. He sniffed again. "Hera said we both have gifts from our parents." That wasn't a question. "You have a tattoo just like mine."

"It's not the same. But did you see mine?" Piper asked.

"No, I didn't. It's not anywhere on your head."

She pulled the collar of her shirt down. She knew that there, at the left side of her collar bone, was a blue _"Ω"_. An Omega. Nobody could see it. Not even Annabeth and Percy when she first showed them. She hoped Leo could.

He stared at the mark. "Did my dad give you that?"

"If Mom gave yours, I think so."

He touched the right side of his temple, rubbed his own tattoo. "My dad marks his creations with an _H_. Eta. But these just aren't random letters. They're...Alpha and Omega. What does that mean?"

"It doesn't matter what it means." It was clear to Piper that they were branded. They were chosen. "But I want to know one thing. Why us, Leo?"

The doorbell rang, breaking the serenity of the room. It echoed throughout the mansion, causing the boys on the floor to stir. Hazel emerged from the back of the house. "Is that Percy?"

Annabeth broke away from her minute-long sleep. She didn't look happy about it. "I don't think so. He should be here in ten minutes or later." The doorbell rang again. Frank groaned and covered his face with his pillow. But he was awake now.

"Maybe he's early." Hazel moved to the intercom and took a peek. She looked confused. "There's two people out there. I'll be right back guys."

She went out. Piper exchanged a glance with Annabeth. Leo looked worried, too. He tightened his towel and stood up, helping Piper out of the couch. All the boys roseup from the mattresses, blinking away the sleep and mumbling about their dreams.

Two minutes later, Hazel was back. "Leo, there are people looking for you. Piper, too."

"I think it's them," Annabeth said. "The people Hera talked about. Bring them in?"

Frank and Nico kicked away their beds. Everyone waited for the visitors.

The first to step in was a man in his late thirties or early forties, wearing a blue long-sleeved collar shirt and white tie. He carried a briefcase with him. The second person was a younger man around Percy's age, freckles splashed across the bridge of his nose and cheeks, long brown hair tied into a neat ponytail. Camouflage jacket. A sword and its scabbard hooked on the side of his belt.

The first one to speak was Will, who glared at the younger man. " _You!"_

Ponytail snapped around as , he reached for his sword. Everyone reacted at the quick motion, but the older man stopped him before he unsheathed his weapon. "Wait, Alabaster, don't do anything stupid yet. Do you know these people?"

Alabaster nudged his chin towards Will. "I know _him,_ Dr. Claymore," he said with a scowl, then found Annabeth. "And she's a familiar face, but I don't know her name."

"We're here for business. Let's set whatever it is between each other at the back of our minds." Dr. Claymore cleared his throat and forced a smile. "We're looking for a Leo Valdez and a Piper McLean? Are they here in the room?"

Piper tensed. She sensed that something good and bad was going to go down. They both stepped up, the back of their necks sweating. Leo's jaw was stiff.

Alabaster blinked and squinted at the two of them. He seemed to be loss at words for the first few seconds. " _Them?_ But...but it's them, Doctor. They were in my dream. It was their fault that the world is _ending_ in the first place."


	3. Deep Cuts

**III. DEEP CUTS**

That accusation hurt. Leo didn't remember him and Piper taking down the world by themselves. At least, as far as he knew at the moment. The five years between the war against Gaea and today, he was sure that he spent on something else.

_Are you sure, Leo?_ The maggot in his brain was speaking in again. _Are you really sure you_ _haven't_ _done any of this?_

Everyone stood there for a while, staring at each other, not knowing what to say or do. Someone would clear their throat and try to break the silence, but the words died before they were out of their mouths. The door bell rang two times before Hazel snapped away from the group and moved slowly to the intercom. She peered into the monitor. "It's Percy," she announced rather meekly. "I'm going to get him. How about we all settle down and maybe have a cup of coffee? Frank, can you help me?"

Alabaster didn't take his eyes off Leo and Piper. Dr. Claymore looked around for a place for his briefcase. Nico and Will cleared the table for him, but lifting the staff seemed to be a difficult task for both of them. "Holy crap," Will gasped, shaking his hands after trying for the fourth time. His palms were red. "Why is this  _heavy_?"

"Let me get it," Leo said, happy to be away from Alabaster's piercing glare. They both stepped back and watched him take the staff effortlessly. He assessed it for a moment. "Huh. It's not that heavy. You guys are just messing around."

"Let me try." Annabeth said. "I won't kid." When he passed it to her, it pulled her down like a dumbbell. The head of the staff weighed down on her toes. "N-no, they aren't kidding."

Leo still looked skeptical, but they all sat back down when Frank came back with the tray of coffees, and Hazel showing a group of people inside the house. Percy entered first, all dirt and grime and still wearing his vest. He carried a little boy in one arm—around four or five years old—while he held a huge luggage in the other. His mother, Sally Jackson-Blofis came last, carrying lighter bags.

Percy bright smile turned down slowly when he felt everyone staring at him intently through the silence. "I'm interrupting something really important, am I?"

Alabaster suddenly stood up and glared at Percy, pure hatred in his eyes. The son of Poseidon was taken aback, but he dropped the luggage and was reaching to his pocket within a second. Alabaster marched towards him, ready to draw his sword again, until a hand caught him by the arm. "Not  _now_ , Alabaster," Claymore sneered.

Annabeth and Nico moved in front of Percy, ready to spring if Alabaster made sudden moves. The tension between both parties was unbearable. Hazel stood besides Mrs. Jackson, holding her and whispering something to her. Words of assurance, maybe, because the mother looked the most alarmed out of all the people in this room.

Alabaster gritted his teeth and shook off Claymore's hand, stepping back. "You should be thankful you brought your little brother with you." He shot a glance to the little boy. "I wouldn't want to kill you in front of him and your mother, but I wouldn't give a shit if I do it in front of everyone else."

The little boy's face scrunched up. He gave Alabaster an unfriendly look. The latter looked away, in shame and anger.

" _Enough_ , Alabaster." Claymore pressed again. "And sit down, please. It is not the time, nor the place, to avenge whatever grudge you are holding against these people. Everyone here is important. We have more work to do after this, you know that." Alabaster sat down on the arm of one of the couches and wiped his mouth with his hand. Claymore's voice softened. "We'll talk later, just not now."

Hazel directed the arrivals, including Percy, to the dining room. She constantly looked behind her back. After making sure that his companion didn't go charging at anyone else, Dr. Claymore placed his suitcase on the coffee table and started setting up shop; he took out a large map—a world map—and taped it on the balcony door. The map illuminated in the sunlight. The names of the continents, the countries, and the oceans didn't appear till light shined through it. Like magical map.

"Alright, so how should we begin?" Dr. Claymore turned back to the demigods. He was a bit shaky. "I think I should start by introducing ourselves."

Everyone awkwardly introduced themselves one by one. God, it reminded Leo of the first days in the schools he went to. Though Dr. Claymore presided, their focus was on Alabaster. He made Leo uncomfortable for some reason. He had not seen someone with so much anger in him.

"I'd like to ask about Miss McLean and Mr. Valdez's health." He heard Claymore say. "So, how are you two fairing in the land of the living again?"

Leo and Piper looked at themselves and then shrugged. The doctor nodded knowingly. "I see, I felt the same as well. Did something felt missing when you woke up?"

"Well, they lost their memories," Annabeth answered for them. "But it's coming back to them. I think."

That was true, but Leo still felt a bit off. In pieces. Hera said that if their marks were "activated" they would feel complete again.  _But what's the trigger?_

Dr. Claymore drank some of his coffee and placed it on the table. "I'm sorry about Alabaster's actions before. He has a reason; he has a history with some of you, though you haven't met us before. But I want to talk to you all about a heavier topic. Hecate sent us here to help you and get you started for what's coming up ahead. If you've been told about the situation we are in now, that saves us a lot of time. But to refresh our memories again, I'll tell you now that the world is ending—our world—because another world is trying to replace us. Ridiculous, I know. How did that happen and why, we all don't know yet, but maybe through careful planning we'll find out and get our questions answered."

"How do you we trust you, though?" Will said, his arms folded together in front of his chest. "How do we really know that Hecate sent you to help us?" He laughed. "Torrington here fought in a war against us. His side wants to destroy the world. Now he wants to  _save_  it?"

The coffee table lurched up, startling everyone. Mugs tumbled sideways, coffee dribbling on the surface. Alabaster was about to spring up from his seat, but Claymore held his down his shoulder firmly. No one said anything, but the younger man huffed like a bull.

"We don't have the proof you want to show that we are on your side," the doctor said sadly. "The only proof we have, well, it's invisible to the eyes. And a short notice given to you by Hera. I guess it's really up to you all if you're willing to let us proceed further, but you must know that we have to tell you what we have to tell. If you'll let us..."

The demigods looked at each other, silently reaching other for their thoughts on it. Annabeth nodded for all of them. "Alright."

"Thank you." Dr. Claymore took out a Sharpie and uncapped it. "Everyone in this room has a task in this, but to start off—" He circled around the lower left part of the United States in the map—California. "Let's talk about the war outbreaks. In the past few days you may have noticed that there are isolated battles appearing during the night, and disappearing at day. It's safe to assume that they are from the other world, slowly leaking to ours. They go in and out. But this isn't the only place where it happens." He circled a couple of more spots on the map, most of them outside the US. "It's happening on other parts of the world as well, and they are rapidly expanding. More and more of them are coming and are fighting against each other. So far as we have observed, they are demigods. They haven't made any severe impact or damage to the people in this world, but I wouldn't rest easy about that because they will. Soon enough."

"Those places where the fights happen are where they're coming from," Frank said. "I think there's a portal every night for them to climb over and fight over here. I don't understand why they would go back to their world again when they want to take over this place."

"Maybe they're slowly migrating here," Annabeth said. "Like projections. But what I don't get is why they fight against each other instead of trying to fight us."

Will answered, "They don't notice that they've jumped over here, maybe? They're just going through their business and they were just here. Someone or something else might have put them here."

Annabeth looked back at Dr. Claymore. "Is there any way to stop them from coming over here?" The answer was obvious, but asking the question was to make sure they could cross off the option.

"I'm afraid not. We don't know exactly who we are against with. Hera and the rest of the Olympians need to send some of you out to observe them. They want to measure the severity and how—for want of another word— _broken_ this other world is. We have to know who we are going to fight, and the consequences when this isn't stopped at time. The gods are selecting a few demigods—including all of you—to be dispatched all over the world for certain tasks. There are those who will investigate and fight the enemies, and there are those who will seek alliance with the other gods from different regions for help."

"Gods," Leo muttered. "There are more gods?"

Alabaster crossed his arms. "Did you really think that it's just the Greeks here?"

"There are the Romans, but the Greek and Romans are in some way the same people, right?"

"There are the Egyptian gods in Brooklyn. The Norse gods in Boston. There are more gods in their home countries, and some secret and dead religions still being practiced underground. People keeping the old gods alive. And we don't know all of them."

"Well." Leo leaned back to his seat. "I guess that complicates things."

"I wonder what America has that keeps attracting all these gods. It isn't that great of a country." Percy said. He and Hazel were joining their friends. The room tensed once more as Alabaster clenched the handle of his sword, but didn't draw it. Percy was twirling his pen around his fingers and made himself comfortable on a seat besides Annabeth, glancing at Alabaster once in a while. Hazel stood besides where Piper sat, placing a hand behind her back.

"It gets complicated from here," Annabeth said to Leo. "Mixing up with other gods is dangerous."

"Good dangerous or bad dangerous?" Hazel asked.

"A little bit of both, but it's too risky. And to do this with more gods? I don't know, we're supposed to save the world, not be the ones who are responsible of  _ending_  it."

"But I guess there isn't much of a choice," Piper said quietly. "Is there? This is what we're going to do. Get the word out and help each other."

Nico stood up from his seat. "Thank you for telling us all about this, it's great that we're in the know. But what about Jason? Is there a way to find him?"

"Ah, about that." Dr. Claymore eyed Leo and Piper. The look unnerved Leo a bit. "That's primarily why we're sent here in the first place. These two are assigned with special tasks, but the discussion has to be done privately."

Leo leaned forward. "You mean, they can't know what these special tasks are? Don't they deserve to know too, since we're all in this together?"

Alabaster and Dr. Claymore glanced at each other. "The reason is a bit complicated," Alabaster said. "We're going to reveal sensitive information. Like a...top secret mission for them. What happens to the duration of their quest will affect the other quests that has been assigned for them."

Percy placed a hand behind Annabeth. "And...we can't know them? Even though it's important for our quests too?"

"No, sorry. Just the two of them."

"I feel so pressured," Piper murmured to herself, but Leo heard her and he agreed.

Dr. Claymore downed the last drop of his coffee. "I think that's about it for everyone. The gods didn't tell me who's going to do to what, so I imagine that they left it all for you to decide on what to do at this point. If there are no more questions, I'd like to talk to these two about their quest. We don't have much time, we have others to inform as well."

Annabeth said, "Can you give us more details? Where are these portals happening specifically, what our gods have in mind, and what about the other people chosen along with us? Who are they? I mean, we can't be the only ones."

"You're right, you're not alone in this quest, and it's for the best that all of you speak of this together. Alabaster can you fill you in with the other details. Now, I'm taking these two with me. Do you mind if we use the balcony?"

He excused himself and brought Leo and Piper outside. The heat was more punishing here than inside. Dr. Claymore brought with him his suitcase, and behind the glass doors and windows, their friends watched them. Though their attention quickly turned to the Alabaster, who started talking to them and gesturing to the taped map on the glass.

Claymore gestured to the bench which was shaded by the mansion's shadow. "Would you like a seat?"

Leo stared at the place he sat down last night. The memories weren't so welcoming. "I think I'm good," he said.

"Me too," Piper added.

"Alright then." He placed his suitcase down. "It's best to go straight to the point and skip the frills." Claymore took a deep breath. "You two have a different task, and I think you both know that. You have to bring your friend back before it's too late. He's name is Jason Grace, am I right? To do that, you have to do a magical taboo."

"And what's that?" Leo asked.

"I don't know," he said, sounding a little disappointed and frustrated himself. Just as Leo groaned silently, he continued. "But I do know it's a powerful form of magic, one of the oldest magic that stayed in this world, magic that has been deliberately forgotten and purged because of how powerful it is. It is forbidden to be performed until now, and the gods want you two to do it."

"But we don't know what it is and what we're going to do," Piper said. "So how do we do this?"

"This is what I want to talk to you about." Dr. Claymore placed his hands together like he was going to pray, and pressed them to his lips. His tone was quiet. "There's a place in this world—or outside of it—that holds all the answers. All the powers you can imagine. The heart of the universe. We call it the Sanctuary. It is one of the most heavily guarded secrets in the world—from anyone and everyone—watched over by a group of people across alternate dimensions to prevent unwanted visitors. Even to the gods or any higher deity, they have to respect the rules and the rights of the Sanctuary and not interfere. You may get your answers there."

"If it's not known to anyone at all, then how come you know?" Leo said.

Dr. Claymore looked back at the inside of the mansion. "Alabaster is a guardian. He makes sure that whenever the Sanctuary is being spoken about—like right now—no one is eavesdropping." He looked up to the sky. "The gods may or may not know it exists, but they will never find it. Uninvited guests are not welcomed there. The people guarding the Sanctuary, they'll do everything to keep off trespassers. It's the motherboard of the universe after all.

"Alabaster was approached by Hecate to assist you. He grants you entrance to the Sanctuary and get what you need there, so you don't have to worry about being slaughtered by the guardians. You have to go to the innermost keep of the Sanctuary to find out about what you must do, and to know about the taboo."

He stopped there, so they could take in the new information. By this point, Leo's partly empty brain was taking in what it could devour without any reaction from him. He wasn't surprised at anything anymore. They were definitely facing the worst of the worst. He learned so much today that he didn't think that his old memories would find room in his mind when they came back.

"So how do we get there?" Piper asked.

"It's not a hard place to find, but you need a key to enter it. That key is broken into five pieces and scattered in places. Someone chosen to enter must seek these pieces and put them back together, and then they would be taken to the Sanctuary. Before they leave, they have to break it into five pieces and scatter them again in the United States, since this is where many gods of the world dwell nowadays. If you want to find the Sanctuary, you must find the pieces all over again. It's the process. It's tradition. Only the guardians and the last known user know where the pieces are, and even then the guardians don't know the exact locations, so I can't provide addresses for you."

"Great, I think this will be a walk in the park then," Leo said. "Not that it's just simple as that. I mean, we're going to scout the entire the entire country for the key pieces. Just a simple fetch quest, right? _Right?_ "

Claymore wouldn't hide his doubtfulness. And Leo knew that look. Of course it wasn't simple as that. Every time Leo laid something down in simpler terms, people would tell him it would be much more than what he just said.  _Every time._

"It's a bit more complicated than usual," Claymore said. He glanced inside the mansion again. "The last visitor of the Sanctuary had entered and delved into deepest level. He found what Alabaster and the guardians have been protecting all this time. Before—"

"What is it?" Piper interrupted. "What are they guarding?"

"I don't know, and I'll never know, that's for sure. But whatever it is, before he got out he wanted to make sure that the next person will have a harder time getting in. So he broke the key into  _nine_ pieces and scattered it all over the world. He broke tradition to protect what's inside of the Sanctuary."

"Oh." Leo said. "Oh no."

"While adding false leads to slow down the next one who wants to find them."

"NO."

"But why would he do that?" Piper said, equally distraught at the thought of more work to be done. "Was he allowed to break tradition? Can we?"

"No, he wasn't. And, no, you're not. We don't know his true motives for doing that though, and we never really questioned him. Maybe it was done to keep whatever is inside it from the wrong hands, or he wanted it for himself. He was the first person to break tradition, but it had several consequences, although it appeared unrelated to the case. He had to give up his old life and past, was exiled from his home and country. He became a guardian, just like Alabaster. We keep a close eye on him from time to time. He's not a real threat, but he can be when he wants to."

The wind blew on Piper's untied hair, the edges of the strands tickling Leo's arm. "Where do we find those key pieces?" Piper asked, brushing her hair back behind her ears.

"Usually it's easy to tell you, but even we're fooled by the false leads. It's safe to start on the routes of the Silk Road, within it and just outside of it." He opened his suitcase. Leo just noticed that covered under layers of papers and other small intricate artifacts was a pistol, and it wasn't just any gun. Just by a glance he knew it was a M11 by SIG Sauer. How he knew this he didn't know. He sifted through his memories. He wasn't exactly a gun expert.

Dr. Claymore took another world map from it before closing his suitcase. In close examination, Europe and Asia were covered in lines. Routes. "The Silk Road is a very Asia-centric location, but that's where we sense many of the key pieces, including the false ones. There are a few pieces far away from the old trade route, like Australia, and some a bit...otherworldly, but nonetheless easy to find if you know where to look. That's all I can say, because that's all we know."

Piper frowned. "How long does someone take to find the pieces?"

"One week at least, if the locations are given to you."

"Can't you give us more than the Silk Road then?"

Claymore shook his head. "Alabaster and the others only sense these pieces, but they can never know where they truly are unless they go out to find them themselves. They can't give you the exact cities where the pieces reside, especially now that someone didn't follow the rules of the tradition to further protect the Sanctuary from being easily accessible to anyone. The pieces could be anywhere for all we know. Some of them may be in museums, or some may be in someone's basement."

"Then can we talk to the last person who went there?" Leo said. "He's the one who broke the pieces, so he's the one who really knows where the pieces are."

"I have some bad news for you then, son. I'm afraid he's unapproachable at the moment. Like Jason Grace, he's also missing. That, and..." He didn't finish.

Leo wanted to throw his hands up in the air. Everything kept getting  _hard_. "So, we're on our own then?"

"Yes."

"We're literally going to go around the world to find these pieces, and we don't know how long it would take. The end of the world could happen next month and we don't know if we have all the pieces?"

"Sadly."

"And you're not going to help us?"

"We'll help you, but we can't go with you. We have other problems we want to look at as soon as possible. You can keep tabs with Alabaster through any means of communication. Iris messaging, for instance, and you don't have to worry about anyone else listening to our conversations as long as he's there. We're, in simpler terms, your mission control. But you are not to tell your friends that you're seeking the Sanctuary. You have to understand that."

Piper nodded. She reached out to shake the man's hand. "Thank you, Dr. Claymore, for all this. We'll talk to our friends, smooth everything out before we do anything. We promise won't tell them about the Sanctuary. Although..." She looked at the sky. "You said that anyone except us shouldn't know where  _it_  is. I'm not sure about  _other_  beings eavesdropping on us. They could be listening right, you know, being out of the open like this."

Claymore chuckled. "Not to worry about it, Ms. McLean. Paradox is an iffy little thing. Also, a really handy amplifier of magic and actions. I think you'll learn a lot from that soon enough..."

While ignoring the man's last remark, Leo looked back to their friends inside the mansion. They seemed to be finishing up with their own discussion. Alabaster was taking down the map from the glass. "What did he mean that it's our fault that the end of the world is coming? Alabaster, I mean."

Claymore sat down on the bench and stretched his legs. He looked exhausted. "There's no solid answer for that. We're still trying to figure out the meaning behind Alabaster's dream if it's about events in the past. Now I'm sure he's wondering if it'll happen in the future."

He eyed Leo carefully. Leo wanted to turn away, but he had to look at him. He didn't do anything bad. He was not guilty of anything, he was sure of it. "He's keen trying to kill Percy, doesn't he?"

"Normally he isn't," Claymore said. "He's in exile from the other demigods. If he isn't, he would have been killed by the gods for the service he had done in the war a few years ago. This is the only exception that he's allowed to interact with you." He paused. "Alabaster's roughened up by his past. His grudge against Percy Jackson I'd rather not talk about. All your friends have a history with him; I'm not sure about you two. He was reluctant to help you because you are associated with them. But Alabaster is a good man. I'm sure you can trust me on that."

"Then what about you, Dr. Claymore," Piper said. "Who are you? And why do you know all this?"

Claymore smiled. "I guess the correct question should be  _'What am I?'_. I was mortal once, Ms. McLean. I died just like the two of you." He placed the tips of his fingers on his chest. "I was resurrected to guide Alabaster. This is not my body. Before, I was just a writer with best-selling books. I called all the copies of my works back after I was brought to all of this, and cut off contact with the people I know. I now live in this sort of nomad life, with Alabaster."

They were both silent for a moment. Piper stepped up once again. "The gods gave us what Hera called gifts. She says we're not complete until they're activated, and they'll help in our quest. What does she mean?"

"You mean the tattoos in your body?" Claymore stood up. "They're marks, that's for sure. They could have magical properties, or they could just be simple brands. I don't know how to activate them. I don't know how it'll help you. But I know that both of you have been resurrected imperfectly. Instead of giving you new forms, the gods bounded you back in your original bodies. They don't have the time nor power to give you both a fresh start."

"Andthere are severe side effects?"

Claymore nodded. "As a result, your body may experience the moment of your death your from time to time. You'll feel the pain all over again, but you'll never die, so you'll have to endure it."

Piper rubbed her neck gently. Leo gulped down the growing lump in his throat. He recalled yesterday morning's incident, and the moment he first woke up. The worm in his brain drilled in his mind, spreading lies and doubts in his memories and thoughts, and causing so much pain he could barely stand it. He didn't want to go through that again.

_But are you sure that they're just lies?_  The worm said.  _Because I'm happy to point out what's true._

Dr. Claymore looked at the city below them. "I'm sorry I can't help you any further. But you're not the only one with those tattoos." He rolled up a sleeve of his shirt and revealed an Omega mark similar to Piper's at the back of his arm.

* * *

After lunch, Alabaster and Dr. Claymore left. Everyone sat down in the living room once more and discussed about what to do at this point. They had everything they needed to get started. It was time to sort them out and know when they would get started. They didn't have a second to waste.

Piper and Leo told their friends about going to travel around the world to collect something and pointed out the trip's focus was on the old beaten Silk Road, but they were going to make a couple of detours after that. "I don't know how we'll able to get around fast. I mean, I don't think me and Leo have the money to buy plane tickets, or time to wait through the screening processes. I don't want to burn a hole in my dad's pocket. We're all facing the same problems here, right?"

Percy and Annabeth looked each other. "We think we know a couple of people who can help all of us with that problem," Annabeth said. "Since it's best that we all team up with other people with other gods, we might as well have to make a pit stop there."

"You know other people with other gods?" Frank said. Percy and Annabeth didn't answer.

They didn't really question what Piper and Leo had to do for their quest. Maybe their friends were told not to by Alabaster. Maybe they were just going easy on them. Who knows?

They were done just as dinner time was announced. The first thing everyone were going to do was to see Leo and Piper depart safely abroad the next day, before Annabeth and the rest went with their other plans. Team Amnesia's mission was more important than the rest. The sooner they find what they were looking for, the sooner this mess would end.

At the dinner table the conversation was turned to the Jackson-Blofis family. Paul Blofis arrived in the mansion and joined his wife and two sons for dinner. Everyone's attention was towards Percy's cute little brother, who was born a few months after the war against Kronos the titan. Talking about anything other than the world ending and how to prevent it made everyone relax. Leo even welcomed it, even though he didn't remember the kid. He was supposed to, from the way the kid acted around him. The boy kept smiling and waving at him, but didn't approach. He seemed like a shy kid, and was waiting for Leo to talk to him.

Hazel showed Piper her bag, and they both went upstairs. The girls and Leo bid each other goodnight before he retired to his own room. Behind him, he heard someone. "Wait a minute, Leo."

Annabeth followed. She also carried a huge bag with her. "This is your stuff. Mostly your clothes, and maybe your secret stash of porn you share with the boys that somehow bypassed airport security."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." He took the bag from her and placed it on top of his bed. He opened it and rummaged through the contents. They were mostly clothes, a shoe box containing his boots, and a couple of books on engineering. He took them out one by one, unfolding them and laying them down on the bed.

One set of clothing caught him by surprise. An army dress uniform. A few decorations were stitched on the left breast, along with his ranking on the left shoulder. There was his nameplate, his unit and his other identification, his buckles, his other patches. Tucked inside the coat were letter envelopes held together by a rubber band. They were all addressed to him.

Leo touched the fabric of his coat, his thumb gliding down his nameplate. "I was in the army?"

"You enlisted when you were eighteen." Annabeth said, crossing her arms. "Shortly after you and your girlfriend broke up. You thought that the normal college life wouldn't suit you, and you admitted to me once that you wanted to be back at the game. You wanted to be around the  _Noise_. That's what you call all the fighting. You thought you didn't feel useful here, at home. So you were abroad for three years."

"In Afghanistan," he finished. "I was deployed in Afghanistan as a combat engineer."

He bombed buildings, and cleared out rubble. Repaired the engines of fried combat vehicles. Built bridges for them to cross, and forts and barricades to defend themselves. He fixed drones. He forgot the amount of C4 he planted on countless gates and steel doors. The amount of innocent people he scared with the noise they made. He and his unit were rescuing these people, but they had every right to be afraid.

He had pulled his service pistol from his holster—a Beretta M9, he remembered—and shot a man in the chest. He turned the gun over to the armory, along with his combat uniform and the rest of his equipment, before packing home. The souvenir for his service was in the dress uniform he kept for himself. He wasn't planning on wearing it in the future.

Annabeth knelt down on the floorto his uniform, sitting next to him. "We were reluctant to let you go back then, when you decided to enlist. We just had you back, you know. You just came home and you were going to leave again. Jason and Piper were especially heartbroken." She pointed at the letters. "They sent most of the pile."

Leo snorted. "I bet." He stood up, sat down on his bed, and intertwined his fingers together, fiddling with his thumbs.

Annabeth made herself comfortable besides him. "You just got back home a few weeks ago. Honorable discharge. Piper fetched you, and she told you about Jason. Then you guys came here and went out to search for him. The rest is history."

He nodded. "Thanks for looking out for us."

She smiled. "It's nothing." She patted his back gently. "Get ready for tomorrow. It's best you travel light, especially if you're going to carry that staff everywhere. Prepare what you're going to wear. I'm going to bed. And you do the same. You're healthy, but not healthy enough." She kissed the side of his head. "Good night, Leo."

"Sweet dreams, Night Owl. Get out before your boyfriend starts to wonder why you're taking so long here with me."

She grinned and stood up. At the doorway she stopped and turned her head back. "You have a place here, Leo. With us. We're not your ex-girlfriend, and we may not have what she had, but you're our family, okay?"

He smiled. "Thanks for everything, Annabeth. Really."

She closed the door. Leo sat down for a while, breathing slowly and staring into space. He reviewed everything new he learned after he woke Piper up this morning and told her about Jason. It scared him that he was calm, when he shouldn't be. The world was ending, it might have been his fault for doing that. He touched the side of his forehead, where his tattoo was. A gift from Aphrodite.  _Whatever you are and whatever you do, I hope you're useful._

He removed the rubber band holding the envelopes together in a pack, and started reading the letters written to him by his friends.

* * *

In the morning, Percy and Hazel saw Mrs. Jackson and her youngest son out safely with her husband Paul Blofis. Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare was the visitor of the day in Nico di Angelo's humble abode. "So where are we heading? New York? Brooklyn?" She looked past the crowd of demigods and zeroed on Leo and Piper at the back. "There they are, in the flesh and breathing."

Leo was just putting on his favorite leather brown jacket, and imprinted at the back of it was a pair a wings, in the middle a halo, above that was a banner with a text. LET ME DOWN SLOW, it said. Underneath his jacket he wore a black sleeveless turtleneck and he packed a long sleeve version in case the weather called for it. He completed his own outfit with a new pair of cargo pants and his boots. Strapped behind him, just over his small backpack carrying his essentials, was the magical staff Hera gave him. It may be light, but if he needed to run it would be a hassle lugging it with him always.

Piper finished tying her hair into a high ponytail. Her leather jacket was white, but adorned with pink battlement patterns. It gave Leo a vibe of royalty from her. She wore a shirt similar to his except red, then just jean shorts and boots. She looked more exposed to the elements, so he expected to see her packed with more stuff if they came across harsher weather in the cold side. But she only had with her a sword and her dagger strapped on her belt.

"Hey," he said to her. "Aren't you going to be a little cold in that?"

She shrugged. "I think I'll be fine. I'll just get clothes on the go. Travel light, remember?"

"Suit yourself then, princess."

Rachel went to back and hugged them both. "I'm glad you two are okay. Hope you guys are strong enough to survive the trips around the world."

Annabeth gestured for them to get in the front, to the exit of the mansion. "Me and Rachel are going to take both of them to Brooklyn and meet up with certain contacts," she said to everyone. "Then I'll come back with the necessities for our own quests. Percy and Frank will scout Los Angeles for disturbances related to the people from the other world. The rest of you, be prepared for anything that might happen. Will, Hazel, Nico, stay connected. Everyone get ready."

Leo and Piper were passed around in circles of hugs and kisses and wishes of good luck, safe travels. Annabeth opened the doors. They all stepped out and walked towards the limousine waiting down the path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo good afternoon Philippines and...good...aftermidnight Canada? sorry for the late update? life happened? like these past three months, me and my beta-reader are really busy in our non-fandom interests. On my side, I got enrolled to college for a month, invested myself in my studies, then pulled out because I was moving to Canada and now I'm in Canada. Tadaaaa. I was prepared to write a long author's note but you know what fuck that im not even gonna try and explain myself ha ha ha
> 
> I just really want to apologize still for the late update. But I'm glad that we're finally leaving the exposition phase of this story, and by the next chapter we gonna get some excitement now! The real action is gonna roll in! I'm totally pumped about this! i hope i dont fuck up because i already have
> 
> I edited the previous two chapters because of factual inconsistencies. Nothing major. Just about Leo's haircut. Because since I realize that since he's still fresh from the army, it's impossible that his hair would grow that fast from a military cut (which is a part of their uniform) to his natural curls. Give it three months though.
> 
> Thanks Hazelle More for beta-reading this and putting up with this trash bag that happens to be me.


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